# @drawingcenter on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BkiUKwaAxns
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/16045764-drawingcenter-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/8e94221020.jpg
- **Posted:** 2018-06-27T17:16:51.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Drawing Center (@drawingcenter) — https://gondola.cc/drawingcenter

## Caption

A prime example of Mel Chin’s collaborative work is “Flint Fit”, 2018, a new commission for the Queens Museum’s “All Over the Place” exhibition. “Flint Fit” is envisioned as applying the strengths of places, as an action in the face of crisis, connecting New York City; Flint, Michigan; and Greensboro, North Carolina in time, function, and fashion. Demonstrating the interconnectedness of resources, Chin’s concept was brought to life with the help of many collaborators. The “Flint Fit” installation even activates the Queens Museum’s 1939 room-size topographical model of the watershed for New York City.
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In Flint, as the water is contaminated with lead, residents must use bottled water for cooking, washing, and drinking, creating countless, constantly-accumulating empty plastic vessels. At Chin’s instigation, over 90,000 used water bottles were collected over the course of six weeks in Fall 2017. They were then sorted and sent to Unifi, Inc, a textile manufacturer in Greensboro, North Carolina where they were cleaned, shredded and transformed into REPREVE recycled fiber. The REPREVE fiber was sent to Mount Vernon Mills and Texollini where it was woven and knit into fabric. Renowned New York fashion designer and Michigan native, Tracy Reese, designed a capsule collection for Flint Fit, using this fabric, inspired by the power and necessity of water, the manufacturing history of Flint, and the resiliency of the Flint community. Reese’s creations were brought to life with the sustainable bottle fabric and the help of St Luke N.E.W. Life Center, a nonprofit in Flint that provides local employment for women, that oversaw the sewing and manufacturing of the garments via its commercial sewing program. The “Flint Fit” prototypes are on display alongside a fragile Flint River by Chin, overlaid on the Museum's watershed model of New York City. 
queensmusuem #MuseumInstaSwap => the swap includes 42 participating NYC culture institutions. Follow the hashtag to learn about  them all!
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Images: “Flint Fit”, 2018, installation photos courtesy of the Queens Museum. Photos by Hai Zhang. [Drawings: Capsule collection designed by Tracy Reese made of REPREVE fabric from empty water

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